Bodyweight exercise indoor: Covid 19 Special

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Bodyweight exercise indoor: Covid 19 Special

Building muscle without going to the gym is what many people must focus on until the limitations enforced by COVID-19 are present. The situation like this is the perfect opportunity for mental strengthening and bodyweight exercise. The second topic i.e. bodyweight exercise is what we are going to elaborate on in this article.

Bodyweight Exercise – No Limits

Despite many prejudices for building muscle without weight-lifting the real truth is that there are no limitations for fitness level that can be developed while having a couple of square meters of a firm floor as the only tool to aid you in training. In addition to this, we are even going to assume that you are short on time and pack this devil exercise in 20 minutes providing that you are going to take all the time you need for warming up and add 10 minutes for stretching.

Hell
Sprint Program

The name of the program was given to
describe the nature of exercises – fast and strong. Before engaging in it, you
will have to evaluate your physical capabilities and start building yourself up
from where you currently are. Everything starts with push-ups.

Testing
Your Current Abilities

The first day of training is reserved for testing. You are going to do push-ups, crunches, and plank until demission and write results on a piece of paper. This is to quantify your physical base and count 80% percent which is going to be the upper bar of tension your muscles are going to be exposed during the first set of exercises. If, for example, you are able to do 10 pushups, in the first set you will do 8 and switch to next exercise. Another important thing is to explain exercises this program is consisted of so you can understand how and why are you doing them.

Push-ups
– Chest Augment

Push-ups are pure basic of physical
workout. Its origins dive back to the ancient times to the eras even before the
old Greece. Sumerian civilization was the cradle of boxing. Fighters did it as
regular exercise because it was of high importance to develop strength in the
upper part of the body. While old times were famous for many delusions push-ups
were one of the rare choices which turned to be right. According to modern
science, regular push-ups target five muscle groups:

Chest muscles or pectorals.

Shoulders or deltoids.

Triceps – positioned at the back of your arms.

Abdominals.

The “wing” muscles positioned under your armpit.
Serratus anterior is their name.

Do push-ups right way

This list makes it completely clear
that push-ups are the right choice for exercise even when being done without
anything else. The correct setup for a standard push-up is to set hands
shoulder-width apart or a little bit wider. As you bend your elbows and lower
toward the ground, your elbows should be at about a 45-degree angle to your
body. It is important to do push-ups correctly. Write down the number you were
able to do.

Plank
– Core Strength Developing

If push-ups are hard then planks are
the real killers. Amongst sportsmen, the plank is also called the torturer as
the pain produced by holding the body in the right position for a certain
amount of time can be enormous. However, the price is little compared to results
as this exercise gives you the opportunity to develop the mere core of your
body.

The plank strengthens the
abdominals, back, and shoulders. Muscles affected by the front plank you are
going to do are:

Muscles that are exposed to the highest effect produced
by the exercise: erector spinae, rectus abdominis (abs), and transverse
abdominis.

The correct plank form means keeping
your core and quads tight while holding hips lifted. For stability’s sake, your
feet and elbows should be shoulder-width apart. To hold your spine in a neutral
position and avoid straining your neck, try to set your chin about six inches
in front of your body. Turn the stopwatch and hold as much as you can.

How
to do a plank in the right way

Squats
– Leg Strengthening

It is no secret that legs are of high importance when it comes to overall fitness. Quads are the main muscles affected by squats. If this exercise is done correctly both lower back and abs are going to be impacted.

Stand with your head looking forward and your chest
raised up and pushed out.

Set your feet wide in the range of your shoulders or
just a little bit wider. Extend your hands straight in front of you to
achieve and retain a better balance.

Imagine a chair and behave like you are going to sit on
it. However, there is one condition – don’t lean back or change body
position. A head must continue to face forward while your upper body is
allowed to bend forward just a little bit. Back must remain straight.
Don’t allow them to round! That can lead to injuries.

Lower down so your thighs are as parallel to the floor
as much as possible, with your knees over your ankles. Press your weight
back into your heels.

While keeping your body tight, push through your heels
to bring yourself back to the starting position.

How to do squats in the right way?

Just like for push-ups and plank,
write down the result.

Training
Instructions

Take the acquired results and count
80% for every exercise. If the numbers are decimal lover it for one. For an
easier calculation extract 10% of your maximum as it is the decreasing value
that will lover the starting 80%. What you get on the end is the starting
number of repetitions or, in the case of the plank, time, you are going to hold
your form. Next three steps are to be performed sequentially without any rest
between:

Do one set of push-ups for bodyweight exercise (80% of your maximum number).

Hold plank (80% or your maximum time).

Do one set of squats (80% of your maximum number).

Take rest for 30 seconds.

Continue repeating the circle lowering the value of starting repetition number for 10% until you reach zero. Example: If the first circle was 80% percent of your maximum you will now do 70% percent of your maximum. Then 60%, 50% until you reach zero.

This was the first part of your training for bodyweight exercise. When you reach 0 take a break for 90 seconds. After that, you start doing the circles again, but the other way around. You will begin with 10% of your maximum and try to increase until reaching your personal record. This goal is hardly possible to achieve as regardless of your training level, muscles are going to be tired and incapable of manifesting their top potential. If you are highly trained, you will, at some point in time, go back to the starting circle of 80%. In the beginning, you might even quit at the first or the second increasing circle.

Don’t let that demotivate you as even the best athletes have a hard time with this kind of training. Another important note is to perceive numbers of repetitions as a trigger for stress level because tension is what allows muscles to develop.

The boxing legend Muhammed Ali once said that he starts counting his repetitions only when the pain begins. While we don’t encourage beginners to conduct extreme amounts of stress over themselves, the point is understood – high muscle tensions are areas where advancing happens. You can do this three to four times a week, and reserve one day for testing your maximums.

Stretching
is a Must

Stretching is as important for bodyweight exercise as the training itself. First and foremost, it prevents injuries and accelerates the recovery of an organism. Another feature of well-performed stretching on a long run is improving both flexibility and strength of muscles. If stretching is omitted, risks for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage increase as well as the likelihood of injury.

Nikola Misovic

A freelance writer contributing on lots of website around the web. Chek me out on my instagram.